The Infiltrator (2016)

Starring: Bryan Cranston, John Leguizamo, Diane Kruger, Benjamin Bratt

Director: Brad Furman

Bryan Cranston in a film about drug dealing and money laundering… Well, you could certainly do a lot worse.

It’s lovely to see Cranston’s career doing so well, he’s a varied actor, and is able to show a dangerous and a tender side in a way that is wonderful to watch.

In this film, he and his partner (Leguizamo) are US Customs officials working on stopping the drugs flowing in from Columbia, and decide to go undercover and follow the money trail to catch the bad guys. But in the process, they face the dangers of being caught, the price on their personal lives, and also tellingly, face the humanity and affection for the people they have to befriend in order to bring down.

The costumes and visuals in this film are delightful because of their 80’s setting, and the pacing is quite good, with some excellent twists and surprises along the way. I loved the way that Leguizamo got to show is ability to be the crazy, risk taker and that Cranston refused to cheat on his wife, so they had to bring in a fake wife for his cover (Kruger). It’s an entertaining package, though I did feel like it felt a bit long. (I’m sure some of you will disagree!)

See It If: should please all of you out there who love your Cranston, drug, Pablo Escobar stories. A solid true crime movie.